Sealing rings, also known as annular seals or O-rings, are widely used in industrial, automotive and machinery applications. Typical sealing rings are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,392,182, 7,857,322, 3,288,475, 3,052,478, 2,888,281, 2,841,429, 3,228,705, 3,047,301, 3,183,008, 3,612,551 and 5,002,290, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20130113165, European Patent No. EP0806594 and Chinese Patent No. CN201047442.
A common prior art technique of accomplishing bidirectional sealing entails the use of two C-seals or spring energized seals facing back to back to handle pressure on the inner diameter or the outer diameter. Each seal must be positioned in a separate groove to provide support from the pressure on the opposite side of the seal. Positioning the seals in separate grooves is necessary because if the seals were positioned in the same groove, the seals would slide into each other thereby compromising the sealing integrity of both seals.